Question

Why is it important that physicians and other clinicians play significant leadership roles in healthcare transformation?

Answer 1

Physician leadership is a need of the hour in the present era of healthcare transformation. It's important due to the following reasons:

- physicians have a unique perspective about healthcare as they understand how healthcare system affects the patients. Only a practising clinician can identify the real problems faced by patients and solutions for these problems.

- They understand the challenges faced by the doctors, other health staff , patients and the entire health care system. So they can bring about positive healthcare transformation.

- They are better than others in influencing their colleagues and patients . Now a days hospitals are promoting MBA or Hospital administration professionals as their leaders. But they cannot identify the real challenges faced by health care professionals and patients as well as they cannot motivate them for better health care transformation.

- A 2011 study revealed that Hospitals managed by Physicians had a better overall quality compared to hospitals managed by professionals with management backgrounds.

Every physician or clinician can become a leader. Everyone neednot become administrative leaders. They can manifest their leadership qualities in their own area of interest and can positively motivate healthcare transformation. The Medical curriculum doesn't offer much leadership training to physicians. So inclusion of proper leadership training in their curriculum and empovering them to take decisions in the healthcare care organization will enhance the productivity of healthcare system.